William had seen the highs and lows of relationships since he was young and was great at reading people.
To him, as long as Stuart wasn't dead, there'd be another chance. But even if Stuart was alive, he should still suffer. Since Stuart wanted to remarry, he had to sabotage their relationship.
Sure enough, when Josephine heard "cheating during marriage," she couldn't help but think of the past.
Married to Stuart for three years, once she got out, Josephine didn't want to look back.
Stuart saw Josephine and called out, "Josephine!"
Thinking of what William had just said, he explained, "I didn't cheat during the marriage, you have to believe me!"
William chimed in, "No one will believe you."
Stuart snapped, "Who do you think you are? Trying to stir things up? Let's see if you can!"
William looked at Josephine. "Josephine, you've already made one mistake; do you want to make another?"
Ignoring them, Josephine walked over to Andrew. "Grandpa, the research institute called. I have to go."
Andrew, flustered, said, "Stuart, have someone take Josephine there."
"I'll take you," Stuart offered.
"No need," Josephine replied. "Handle your own mess first."
She left, and Stuart had no choice but to have someone take her.
As she was about to get in the car, Josephine saw Robin.
Robin smiled. "We meet again."
Josephine's face was cold. "How's it feel to have your artery cut? Want to try again?"
Robin's smile froze. He gritted his teeth. "It's nothing. Worse for you, isn't it? Did you tell Stuart? Does he believe you?"
He laughed, leaned close, and whispered, "Obviously, he doesn't believe you. Josephine, do you really think he loves you that much?"
Josephine suddenly opened the car door, hitting Robin's face with a bang.
He cried out, covering his face as his nose bled.
"Josephine!" he yelled through gritted teeth.
But Josephine calmly said, "Drive."
The car sped away, and Robin, covering his nose, coldly said, "Just wait! One day you'll beg me for mercy!"
Robin went inside and saw William, eyes bloodshot. "I'll kill you!"
He rushed over but, with his face covered in blood, tripped and fell, looking pathetic.
Andrew had someone help him up. "Robin, go clean yourself up first."
Robin washed up and came out, still looking like he wanted to kill William.
Andrew said, "I know everything that happened. Now, sit down and figure out how to solve this."
Josephine didn't care how they were going to solve their problems.
At first, she was surprised by William's identity, but once she knew what he'd done, any sympathy she had was gone.
He was an illegitimate child, his mother was gone, and he had a tough life, but none of that excused his actions.
Being born in the mud didn't mean he had to live in darkness forever.
The sunlight was up there, within reach, if he wanted it.
Josephine just wanted to leave them all behind and live her own life.
But life rarely goes as planned, and it's full of ups and downs.
Josephine hadn't planned to leave the research institute, but a colleague mentioned it was his daughter's birthday and asked her to help pick out a gift from a nearby jewelry store.
It seemed like a small favor, so Josephine agreed. But as soon as she left the institute, a car parked by the roadside suddenly opened its door and pulled her in.
Her heart nearly stopped, but she quickly calmed down. "Who are you? Where are you taking me?"
The car sped away, but no one spoke.
In the dim light, Josephine saw three men: one driving and two on either side of her.
"Who sent you?" Josephine asked. "If someone hired you, I can pay double."
One of them shouted, "Shut up."
Another one added, "Our families are in their hands. No amount of money will help. Don't be afraid, someone doesn't like you and asked us to give you some trouble."
The first one snapped, "Why are you telling her so much!"
"Isn't it because she's good-looking? We're not really losing out!" He touched Josephine. "Her face really makes a man’s heart flutter. No wonder other women would be jealous."
'Other women? Jealous?' The only woman Josephine could think of was Doris.
Besides Doris, Josephine didn't know any other woman who had a grudge against her.
But Doris was far away in another country. Josephine doubted Doris had the means to arrange a kidnapping here. Plus, Doris didn't hate her that much.
Her phone was taken away as soon as she got in the car. Josephine could only hope Jesse and the others would soon realize she was missing.
The colleague who asked her to pick a gift was probably in on it too.
The car quickly left the city. The outskirts were slums, with low houses connected in a row.
Josephine's mind raced.
For safety, she always carried a blade. She could handle one person, like cutting Robin's artery, but now there were three.
When Stuart got the call, his voice was icy. "When did it happen?"
Andrew saw his face turn pale and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Something at the company," Stuart said, striding out. "I need to handle it."
By this time, William and Robin were already gone.
If this were back home, Stuart wouldn't be so panicked.
But this was a foreign country, and he knew how chaotic it was here. He had just survived an assassination attempt a few days ago.
Josephine was a woman; what those people might do to her, he couldn't even imagine.
Stuart went straight to the most powerful armed organization in the area. Without saying much, he immediately put down fifty million dollars to find her.
The car stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse.
The two men grabbed Josephine's arms and dragged her inside.
The warehouse was dimly lit. After a while, Josephine's eyes adjusted.
She saw a familiar figure. Josephine coldly said, "Doris? Is it really you?"
The figure turned around and smiled. "No, you got the wrong person."